Carrick: 'Calculated Maguire gamble' paid off

The Reds put in a magnificent display to see off our neighbours in M16, with a 2-0 win earned by second-half strikes from the returning Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu.

The boss admitted it was “a calculated gamble” to play Harry Maguire for the full 90 minutes, but reserved credit for the defender, as well as the spine of the side, including Bruno Fernandes - whom Carras felt made the difference, providing yet another assist for Mbeumo’s opening goal.

Carrick also had a positive word for both the fans and his coaching staff, and believes the success gives the Reds a foundation to build on, with another huge match away at table-topping Arsenal to follow next weekend.

Here’s everything that Carras had to say in his post-match press conference at Old Trafford, after a winning start in his first game as head coach…

Congratulations. Was that a dream start and better than you could have hoped for?

“Yeah, it’s a great start, there’s no getting away from that. To be honest, before the game, we spoke as coaches and we said that the boys were in a good place. We were quite happy with the days, how we prepared for it, emotionally where the boys were, the state we were at leaving the changing room. So I was quite happy with that leading into the game but listen, City are an unbelievable team with talent and they can rotate and change things. So there’s a plan and then you’ve got to go to Plan B and C and work around it. So you never really know how the game’s going to go but for it to pan out like that, the boys were fantastic today in so many ways. To manage it emotionally with the information we’ve given them and pulling it together, it was pretty good.”

I was wondering about Bruno Fernandes, another assist for him this season. What conversations have you had with him this week as captain and do you think he’s enjoying playing as a 10 again?

“Obviously I’ve spoken to Bruno and I’ve known him a long time now. I thought again he was fantastic today. The way he played the position, he’s so clever and he takes up spaces. He had a big discipline role, him and Bryan [Mbeumo] too defensively as well to protect the team from anything coming through the middle as much as possible. It wasn’t all kind of playing and positivity to that point but he’s just got so much quality. He can adapt and playing in that position he’s a real threat and he made the difference.”

How good was it to have Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire back? What do you think you got from them?

“Yeah, I thought Kobbie was great in there alongside Case, I thought between the two of them. I thought it gave us a strong foundation really with Licha and Harry. I felt it was a game for experience and knowing what it feels like. It was a big ask for H [Maguire] and credit to him. I think we can take for granted sometimes what players do but for him to play today and come through it. I’m not going to lie, it was a bit of a calculated gamble as well of how long he could play and if he could get through it because he’s literally trained for two or three days for probably eight or nine weeks, so it just shows you what it means really to him. I thought he was fantastic. Between him and Licha, they were so solid at the back and gave us the foundation to build on.”

How long have you been thinking about this? I know you’ve been working for three days with the team but when you’ve seen Manchester United play, have you had in your mind that if you were the manager of the team you would do this with it? How long have you been thinking about what you might do?

“I’ve not consciously really. I think it’s obviously something that clicks into gear when you think maybe I’m on my toes to do something about it but obviously I’ve watched a lot, I’ve come here, we’ve got season tickets with my family so I’ve come to a lot of games over recent times. You get to know the players in your own eye, everyone has an opinion and your instincts. There’s a little bit of what I was going to take for today and we had three days to prepare. The balance of how much information, what the lads could take on, being fair to them to not overdo it but actually City probably ask you as much questions as anyone could possibly ask, so you have to have the answers to that. It was a real balance and the coaches, I have to say, over the last three or four days have shown how good they are in terms of how much they gave the players, ways of doing it, being quite creative and then the boys taking it on board.”

Whatever it was, the fans bought into it when we’ve not really seen it much this season. 



“Yeah, I hope so and I think the players certainly fed off it. The players left the changing room unbelievably desperate to do well. I was almost thinking don’t be too desperate where it can cloud your judgement and you make decisions because you’re emotionally so invested in it. I thought they got the balance so right and the supporters were incredible. I said yesterday this can be a magical place and it does some funny things. Today to get that feeling is exactly what we want. Hopefully it’s just the start and something we can build on. We’re not getting carried away massively but you’ve got to enjoy the feeling certainly when you get it.”

That was a performance full of attacking intent and intensity that we haven’t always seen over the last few years. Did you sense the players wanted that and they wanted to be let off the leash to really have a go at teams? 



“I don’t know about so much as being let off, I just think the boys have shown me that they are really willing to listen and learn. They really wanted it so much and the willingness to take the information on and change things a little bit and be willing to adapt. We obviously put a game plan and a strategy together that tried to achieve certain things and everyone played their part in the end.”

You also had three goals ruled out and hit the woodwork twice. Is it fair to say that it could have been more? Secondly, Pep Guardiola was in here a short time ago saying that the Dalot challenge on Doku should have been a straight red. What was your view of that?

“I’m not giving you that answer but I haven’t seen it to be honest, genuinely haven’t seen it. I thought at the time Diogo actually got a foot on the ball, that’s from my angle. I thought he had kicked it out so I didn’t for one second think it was a bad challenge. I got told that there was a lack of force, that’s why. I haven’t seen it so I don’t know to be honest with you, I don’t know. These types of games have swings and momentums and decisions. Like you said, we could have scored more [but] for the slight offsides, however close they were. I haven’t looked at them back but I felt we looked dangerous in the game all the time, even right from the start with Harry’s header. We wanted to have that intent, we knew they are so good at having possession and ask questions of you. Certain times you can’t chase the ball and do that for the whole game, so we wanted to have a real attacking intent and I thought the front four backed up by what was behind them I thought were pretty special today I have to say.”

Amid the quality you showed, there was a huge sort of fight and aggression from every player there. Fans haven’t seen that regularly delivered. How are you going to go about channelling that sort of level of fight and aggression shown today over the remaining 16 games to make sure it’s not a one-off?

“That’s the challenge ultimately and I think it needs to be a version of normal. Listen, we’re not going to have games with the emotion and feeling and everything that today brought, I think we all understand that. But there’s definitely levels of standards and expectations that we need to live up to from ourselves as much as anyone on the outside. I’m totally aware of that. Consistency is the key to any success and if you can find that, then you’re on to a winner, so that’s our challenge. You’ve got to find a way of doing that. Big one next week [against Arsenal], obviously another tough one. But on the back of today, we’ve got a good foundation to build on.”